why do people always say like when they talk?

Question

When you talk you say "I like went to the mall and like..."well why?

Answer 1

People say "like" a lot to explain the meaning behind what their saying.

Answer 2

The use of “like” is no longer just the realm of inarticulate youth but also a common, even acceptable form of speech among intelligent adults.
This nonstandard use of the word “like”--what linguists refer to as a discourse particle--has extended from “Valley Girl” parlance to the White House, reporters and Hollywood stars, to name just a few recent users of the word.
Linguists say that “like,” a little bit or particle of language that doesn’t fit into the usual verb form, allows even the most assured public speaker to escape commitment from what’s being said.
“It’s a very good functional word that we need, which is exactly the reason that it’s spreading to older people,” said Muffy Siegel, an English professor at Temple University, who published a 2002 study focused on contemporary uses of the word.
However, Siegel admits the word still has a troubled history. “It does brand you as identifying with a culture that we stereotypically consider, uh, not to be full of intelligent people,” Siegel said, “That doesn’t mean it’s because the word is dumb. It’s not.”
Some linguists see “like” as a bigger indicator of “teen-speak” bleeding over into adulthood. Corporate speech therapist Karen Long said people in their 20s and 30s whose speech she imitated as, “Like and um man like uh well like uh,” can have significant employment challenges.

Answer 3

People use like as a place holder. You use it when you don't know what to say and eventually it seems like(lol) the right word to use. Heres a link to watch a video of a professor at Pitzer College explaining why "like" is used so often: http://www.pitzer.edu/offices/public_relations/video/# watch the May 9, 2006 interview.

Answer 4

Linguists call it a hedge. It's a way of softening what you say and not claiming to know something more than the other person does. It also "asks" for the other person's agreement. Here is an excerpt from an article about a linguist who set out to study the meaning of "like":

But one of like's most consistent uses, Siegel found, is as a kind of hedge or qualifier.

"When someone uses like, they are saying, 'I'm about to say something, but I'm not sure I have the words for it quite right,' " said Siegel, who found that ancient Hittite and Sanskrit had words similar in function. "Like has different properties than almost, or approximately or nearly. 'Like six' doesn't mean the same as 'six' or even 'about six.' "

Another use of like is as a substitute for the word said: "He was, like, I'm out of here." This is also a kind of hedge.

"You're not saying he said those words exactly," Siegel said. "You're saying he said something like this."

And to those who see the rise of like as an assault on proper English and a sign of the decline of civilization, Siegel has this reply:

"People have been saying that about new words for centuries." She cites as evidence the introduction to an early dictionary of English, compiled in 1755 by Samuel Johnson. "He said he was writing the dictionary to refine the language to grammatical purity because we have to listen to the language of the learned. He mentions all the people who speak wrong, and they are porters, herdsmen and girls."

Here's the full article:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=71334

Answer 5

That happens because the public education system is nothing when what is taught in school is not backed up at home. Children (and adults alike) haven't expanded their vocabularies enough to properly express their thoughts and feelings, so they use "fillers" they hear commonly used in public, on t.v., and at home to try to convey their thoughts rather than learn a new word.

Answer 6

It is a "filler" for when people do not know what to say. I was in Toastmasters (an organization that helps people get over their fear of public speaking), and we had an "ah" counter to count all of the"ah's" and other filler words in our speeches. One fellow was rather good at not saying these filler words - he would just pause until the thought came to him. It was very refreshing to not hear "um", "ah" and "like", and it made one notice it if they did it.

Answer 7

It's almost a nervous tick. It's pretty similar to when people say "um" inbetween words and before sentences, it fills space.
It allows for a pause, but it sure can be annoying.

Answer 8

from hearing other people say it. like, when my friends say odd things like "do it good", or something, after awhile you start to pick up on it, subconsciencelly

Answer 9

there trying to compare things.

Ex. i cant belive this happened. its LIKE that time when I

Answer 10

because they dont know how to properly speak english or its just a habit for them